It is well known that a number of nutrients are critically important in bone health. Fluoride is an essential trace element (see Mertz, W. Science, 1981) with potent anabolic activity in bone (Caverzasio, J. et al., Bone, 1998). A number of cations are useful to promote bone health, as follows.
Calcium is the main bone-forming mineral (see Johnston, C. C. et. al., N. Engl. J. Med., 1992). The adult human body contains slightly more than 1 kg of calcium, 99% being found in bone and teeth. Calcium is the principal cation of bone and exists in bone in an imperfect form of hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2). Magnesium plays a key role in mineral metabolism (see Fatemi, S, J. et al., Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., 1991) and constitutes 0.5%-1% of bone ash. Magnesium influences the formation and/or secretion of hormones that regulate skeletal homeostasis and the effect of these hormones on bone. As a potassium salt, citrate decreases the urinary excretion of calcium thus keeping calcium in the bone, preserving bone mass (Koenig, K. et al., J. Urol., 1991). Potassium provides an alkali load (see Vescini F, J. et al., Endocrinol. Invest., 2005), counteracting diet-dependent acid production. Sodium fluoride has been used to decrease vertebral fracture risk (Pak Y. C. et al., J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 1989; Lehmann R, et al., Bone, 1998) while strontium-containing compounds have long been suggested as an essential nutrient for the normal development, function and health of bone systems (see Meunier, P. J., N. Engl. J. Med., 2004). Strause found that bone loss in calcium-supplemented older women could be further arrested by concomitant increases in trace mineral intake using zinc, manganese and copper (see Strause, L., 1994).
Over the past few years, potassium magnesium citrate (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,219,889; 5,432,200; 7,091,246) and potassium calcium citrate (U.S. Pat. No. 6,287,607) have been investigated as new types of dietary supplements in urinary tract and bone health respectively.
Coordination polymers have been described in the literature. Metal coordination complexes are compounds where a ligand bridges between metal centers, where each metal center binds to more than one ligand to create an “infinite” array of metal centers, e.g., a polymer (Wikipedia, “Coordination Polymers,” 2008). Specific coordination polymers are defined in Oh, M. and Mirkin, C. A., Nature, 2005; and Luisi, B. S., et al., ChemComm. 2007).